Combination spray deflector and point guard for can openers



Aprll 1954 R. w. WATERHOUSE COMBINATION SPRAY DEFLECTOR AND POINT GUARD FOR CAN OPENERS Filed April 22, 1952 INVEN TOR. POEEPT M Marya/005$ BY W, Ema, arm

Patented Apr. 20, I 1954 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE COMBINATION SPRAY DEFLECTOR AND POINT GUARD FOR CAN OPENERS Claims.

This invention concerns a reversible attachment for can openers of a specified general type, and more particularly relates to a device of this nature which in one position on the can opener serves as a deflector of spray emitted from the can when perforated by the point of the can opener, while in a different position on the can opener, serves as a protective guard covering the perforating point of the can opener to prevent injury to persons when the can opener is being handled or is not in use. The invention is herein illustratively described in its presently preferred form as shown in the accompanying drawings, but it should be understood that certain modifications may be made therein without departing from the essentials of the invention.

The general type of can opener to which the invention appertains i typified by that disclosed in Sampson et a1. Patent No. 1,996,550, April 2, 1935, or by that shown in Mumaugh Patent No. 2,080,090 of May 11, 1937, for example. A can opener of the type referred to is characterized by an elongated bar-like handle preferably of uniform flat cross section throughout its length, the handle strip terminating in an operating head comprising a tapered perforating point inclined to the plane of the handle and a pivot hook generally intermediate the handle and the perforating point. lhe pivot hook engages under the rim of the can to permit forcing the perforating point to penetrate the cover of the can as leverage is applied by raising the handle about its rim pivot. Various devices, including that shown in the Mumaugh patent cited above, have been pro posed for catching or deflecting the spray erupting from the initial puncturing of a beer can, for

example, when that general type of can opener is used. Some of these attachments have been made a fixed or integral parts of the can opener, whereas others have been of a detachable nature. The present invention relates to an improved device of the latter nature serving the dual purpose of a spray shield in one position on the can opener and a protective point guard in another position on the can opener.

Another object of the invention is a combination spray shield and protective point guard which will be inexpensive to manufacture and extremely compact for packing and shipping purposes. In this latter connection, it is also an object to provide a device of that character which, before application to the can opener, assumes a substantially flat form, readily conducive to handling and packing in large numbers, yet upon application to the can opener in correct position thereon automatically accommodates itself to the latters shape in order to perform the intended function.

A more specific object of the invention is a combination spray shield and protective point guard for such can openers which maybe manufactured from a simple blank form cut out of thin, flexible material such as resilient sheet metal or relatively stiff, yet resilientlyfiexible, plastic sheet material, hence may be cut and formed with inexpensive dies and associated equipment.

In brief terms, the improved can opener attachment herein disclosed comprises an attachment collar which slips over the butt end of the bar-like handle of the can opener and may be slid therealong toward the operating end thereof in order to position a spray shield carried by this collar in the correct position relative to the operating head of the can opener. "This spray shield is preferably in the form of a flat exten-' sion of one side of the slide collar which extension projects therefrom endwise of the handle and overlies the operating head of the can opener on the side thereof opposite the perforating point. In the operative spray deflecting position of the device on the can opener, the shield portion extends approximately in the plane of the can opener handle whereas the perforating point is inclined rather steeply in relation to that plane, so that a dihedral pocket i formed into which the spray and squirting liquid is expelled from the can perforation to impinge the underside of the shield and be thus deflected thereby away from the person using the can opener. Side flaps, normally folded toward each other from opposite side edges of said flat shield portion to lie close alongside the under or inner face thereof, are sprung apart into substantial perpendicularity to the shield portion automatically as an incident of sliding the device along the can opener handle into operative position thereon, such flaps being raised and wedged apart by defiection of their forward edges by sliding contact thereof with opposite side edges of the inclined operating head of the can opener a the attachment device is slid into operative position thereon. Such side flaps when thus extended or sprung apart serve as auxiliary deflecting elements cooperating with the main shield portion and the inclined operating head of the can opener to cover the opposite sides of the dihedral pocket formed between these latter two elements, so as to increase the coverage of the shield and also'minimize lateral splashing of squirting liduid of the perforating point end portion of the can opener over which it lies as a spray, deflecting shield. and that the forward edges of the-side flaps, namely those nearest the pointed end of the shield portion, be likewise inclined 'tothe longitudinal axis of the device such that when.

the article is being stamped or otherwise cut in blank form out of sheet material, such forward:

edges will lie in straight-line continuation of the convergent-side edges ofthe tapered-point of. the shield and "thereby simplify cutting-dies as well as minimizing waste material by omission of unnecessary protrusive corners.

Moreover, the opposite or rearward edges of the-side flaps are preferably cut at areverse incline to the leading edges thereof so that when the attachment device is installed inoperative spray deflecting position onthe can opener, these rearward edges will not receive interference from the rim of the can engaged.

When the can opener is put away or .is not in use, the-novel attachment device may be slid off the handle, inverted, and then slid back along the handle once again until, in this case,

the flat shield portion slides up and over the perforating point of the can opener to act as a protective point guard, the inherent flexibility of the sheet material out of which the attachment device is manufactured permitting. the necessary deflection of the shield portion inorder to'cover the point of the holder, just as such flexibility permits erection of the side flaps in the-reversely installed position of the deviceon the can'opener;

Theforegoing and other-features, objects and advantages of the invention-including certain details of thepreferred form thereof will now become more fully evident by reference-to the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is atop viewof the novel attachment device forcan openers of the type generally described herein.

- Figure 2 is a top perspective View of the device.

Figure 3 is a similar bottom perspective view of'the same.

Figured is'a-bottom'perspective View of the device-installed as a spray shield on a can opener.

of the type described.

Figure-5- is aside View illustrating operation ofthe can opener and spray shield as the top of a .beer can,.or the like, is being. initially perforated...

Figure 6isa side .view'of the attachmentdevice installed as a protective point guard on such a canopener.

Asillustrated in the drawings the attachment.

device comprises theslide collar. H3 or.equivalent retentive slide element formed toslip over the butt end of and slide along thefiat, bar.- likehandle h of the can opener (Figure 4). In cutting the blank-for the slide collar lilout. of sheet material, it .will' bev evident that two tabs um and lfib are formed. which are interconnected, by the intermediateportion we, whichtabs are.

subsequently folded toward each other and along one face of the portion lilo in order to retentively engage the can opener handle it as shown. The flat shield portion i2 constitutes an endwise projection of the sheet material in the collar intermediate portion Illc (Figure 2) while the side flaps M and i6 constitute side projections or tabs on the body of sheet material in the shield E2 in blank form; These flaps or side projections arefoldedinwardly toward each other and closely along side one face of the shield [2 (Figure 3-)'- when the attachment device is formed and ready forinstallation on the can opener.

Preferably the fiat shield portion l2 tapers endwise to a point, its convergent edges 12a and lib definingzan angle between them which is approximately equal to the taper angle of the perforating pointof the can opener, which in the usuar case is in the vicinity of 60. In the blank form of the attachment device, the forward edges Ma and 16a of therespective flaps l4 and i6 preferably lie in straight-line continuation of theconvergentshield edges-i2b and l2a, respectively, for simplification of the cutting die and because there is no necessity for these edges 14a and [6a to be more nearly at right angles to the longitudinal axis of thedevice, which would require additional material to be used unnecessarily in the .blanki The inner edges or tips 14b and iiib of the respective flaps when folded are slightly separated from each other although they can be made to meet if desired. The remaining or rearward edges Mcand. liic of the respective flaps, namely those edges oppositethe edges Mia and 16a, respectively, are preferably inclined oppositely thereto so as to..conv.erge inwardly relative to these latterv edges, andextend in a straight line fromthe edges MbandiSb to the fold lines of the respective flaps-on. shield'portion if. The opposite edgesJZc .and izd of the base or neck of the shield. l2, namely whereit connects with the collar iii, arepreferably straight-line continuations of .the flap edges i-Ec .and ltc, respectively, in the blank form,. and the width of the shield. across its base is preferably less than its general width so. as. to insure that when it is bent .or deflected'inrelation to the slide collar, the bend will vtakeplacemainly at the base so that there will be nobuckling tendency in the.

shield andthere will be no undue resistance to bending.

Figure. 4 illustratesthe. installed position of the attachment device on the general type of can opener of interest herein. The operating head of this can openerterminates in the tapered perforating point p inclined to the plane of the handleh intheusual .manner. With the-at tachmentslide. collar: lilslipped over the butt endofJthe handle it theflaps li and is likewise embrace the handle, and the attachment device is slid, pointfirst, endwise along the handle towardtheoperating headofthe canv opener. The device is thus advanced along the handle until the flap edges ldcand .iiicare past the can openenanchor hook at .so that when the anchor hookis lodged beneath therim of thecan (Figure 5) these edges will clear. the upper edge of therim, initially at least, during the can-opening operation. As theattachment device is advanced to approach this installed or operative positionon thecan opener, theleading edges .idd and Iiic of I the flaps. rideldown... the inclined opposite side .edgeso ofjthe can openers operating head and... undergo. a wedging action. Theflaps are thus progressively sprung apart and erected alongside the operating head edges as the attachment device approaches installed position, and in that position such flaps function as spray shields and as splash deflectors, covering the sides of the reentrant dihedral pocket formed between the flat shield portion i2 of the attachment device and the upper side of the operating head of the can opener (Figure 5). It will likewise be noted that in the installed position of the device the main shield portion 12 thereof generally overlies the area on top of the can at which the perforating point p first punctures it. Thus the shield I2 is directly in the path of emitted liquid, gas and spray to protect the user from the squirting liquid.

When the can opener is ready to be put away or stored, the attachment device is simply slid ofi the handle it, inverted and slid back along the handle to the position shown in Figure 6, in which the tip portion of the shield I2 covers the perforating point p of the can opener and thereby serves as a protective guard thereon.

Thus there is provided a combination spray shield and protective point guard for a can opener of the general type indicated which constitutes a very inexpensive and simple device capable of being stored very compactly and conveniently in large numbers without likelihood of damage, and which is fiat so it can be sealed and mailed in paper envelopes and otherwise conveniently packaged, or handled. Being capable of manufacture out of thin semi-rigid, resiliently flexible plastic material, the device, although possessed of a number of edges and one or more points, is nevertheless not at all likely to cut the handler and is extremely light in weight. This is not to say, however, that the device could not be manufactured from resilient sheet metal, as that possibility is certainly to be recognized, although is not considered as important or advantageous as plastic sheet material. It is likewise pointed out that the specific shape and exact form of the attachment device as herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings is obviously not the only shape which it may be given, as certain of the details thereof are dictated solely by convenience and preference.

I claim as my invention:

1. The attachable spray shield device for a can opener generally of the type comprising an elongated flat bar-like handle terminating in an operating head, said operating head being tapered to a perforating point inclined relative to the handle and said operating head carrying a hook member intermediate such perforating point and the handle to engage beneath the rim of a can to be opened by said can opener, said attachable shield device comprising a collar portion formed to retentively engage the can opener handle and slide therealong for adjustable positioning relative to the operating head, a substantially flat shield portion carried by said collar member projecting therefrom generally endwise of the handle along one side of such handle, said shield portion being of such size and shape as, when advanced into operative position overlying the operating head of the can opener, to intercept spray and liquid squirting from the can punctured by the perforating point, said spray shield defining in conjunction with one side of the operating head a dihedral shaped pocket, and flap members resiliently secured to opposite sides of said spray shield portion and normally folded toward one another alongside one face of said shield portion, while embracing the can opener handle when advanced therealong toward the operating head, said flap members being engaged by, and sprung apart along opposite sides of, the operating head by sliding approach of the attachment device into operating position thereof along the handle, to cover the sides of such dihedral pocket and thereby catch spray and minimize lateral splashing of liquid impinging said spray shield portion.

The attachable spray shield device defined in claim 1, wherein the shield portion of the device is normally substantially coplanar with one side of the collar portion and is resiliently supported thereby to permit deflection of such shield portion out of that plane effected by sliding of such shield portion along the face of the inclined perforating point of the can opener during advance of such device, in inverted position on the can opener handle, toward the operating head, thereby permitting such shield portion to protectively cover the tip of the perforating point.

3. The attachable spray shield device defined in claim 1, wherein the collar portion, spray shield portion and flap members are formed integrally of plastic sheet material possessed of form-retaining stiffness and resilience.

4. The attachable spray shield device defined in claim 3, wherein the end of the operating head remote from the handle is tapered and the forward edges of the flap members lie in straightline continuation of the opposite convergent side edges of such tapered point in the blank form of the device.

5. An attachment device for can openers, comprising a collar portion having a generally flat side, a substantially flat shield portion projecting from one edge of said collar portion side in substantially coplanar relation thereto and of a width approximately equal to the width of said collar portion side, and flap portions joined to opposite edges of said shield portion each of a width less than the width of said shield portion and normally folded along one face thereof toward each other but being swingable away from such folded positions into positions projecting transversely of said fiat shield portion from its oppposite edges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,099,052 Jones June 2, 1914 1,750,577 De Bracht Mar. 11, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,897 Great Britain of 1904-. 

